3 SOBE Activities You Can’t Miss

How to describe Florida’s Miami South Beach otherwise known as SOBE? Ocean Drive and the beach are action-packed. In a word, there are tons of SOBE activities to choose from.

How to describe Miami South Beach – it is an energetic, action-packed, international playground.  In a word WOW.  Are those the 3 SOBE activities you can’t miss?  Read on…

Miami South Beach – affectionately referred to as “SOBE” has become a favorite for the Travel Junkie family.  It has everything – great food, interesting beaches, and an international flair.  

When you add in the overwhelming number of activities near South Beach like Fort Lauderdale, and Miami – it really is a no-brainer destination.

But with so many things to do, how do decide what are the must-do SOBE activities?  Let me help.

SOBE is a Foodie Paradise.  

Can you believe food ranks higher than the beach?  The variety and quality of food in South Beach are THAT good! Florida’s South Beach has become a true foodie destination.

For the February 2018 trip, we went to SOBE to attend the Food Network’s Wine and Food Festival (WFF). Folks, I gotta say, while this is not a budget excursion, it is a WORTHY experience. It was so good, we returned in 2019 and are planning to attend a 3rd time in February 2020.

WFF Welcome Tent – this was across the street from our hotel and located beside Lummus Park. So convenient for tickets to those last-minute events!

The WFF is a 4-day experience that stretches from the beach at Lummus Park all the way up the beach to events in Fort Lauderdale. 

The festival includes over 85 events catering to various audiences (more than 65,000 guests), ranging from family and puppy-friendly events to wine tastings, gourmet dinners, “Bites” on the beach, and c-r-a-z-y dance parties. 

WFF is such a huge event, I can’t do it justice in this story. For more information, check out my full WFF story coming soon!

Are you a Foodie? Papa Joe and I like to think we are.

We recently heard Miami described as “cultural exploration through food”, which is a GREAT description for this city.  On our last visit to the South Beach region, we splurged on a food tour through Little Havana.

Specialty Cubano sandwiches, Cuban ice cream, exploring the inner food network of Little Havana – that was really cool.

So much so, that we now recommend adding a food tour to every destination. Read more about this recommendation in my story Travel for Foodies.

Restaurant after restaurant… after restaurant.

Ocean Drive hotel fronts were ridiculous. One of the things I didn’t expect before visiting South Beach was to find the front of many hotels to contain restaurants.

Some of the restaurants are affiliated with the hotels, some aren’t – just ask the host staff if this is something you care about. 

The thing they all have in common is ginormous adult beverages and locally-fared food.  My favorite has become Larios On The Beach, owned by Gloria and Emilio Esteban.  Know of them?  Their restaurant features authentic Cuban food and mojitos.  Great service, great food, and as rumor has it, Gloria was on site Thursday night when we ate there. 

Ah, the rarity of the air we breathe!  Regardless of which restaurant you select, plan on good food, tasty beverages, and a pricey bill.

If you are looking for a less pricey bill and a more relaxed environment, you can’t go wrong with the bistro-style restaurants on Collins Avenue.  We have tried a couple, my favorite so far is Sultan Restaurant, with incredible honey baklava.  To die for!

As Florida and Miami, in particular, have become a haven for immigrants, anyone wanting to try a variety of food will be at home here.

Both the gyro and baklava were great at Sultan. We actually go out of our way to eat here when in SOBE. This restaurant located on Collins Avenue has been in business for 30 years. I can understand why.

We also tried a street-level Mexican restaurant, and thoroughly enjoyed the scents wafting from restaurant doors along the streets. Truthfully, we haven’t found a restaurant we don’t like, but we will keep looking!

Let’s talk about the food budget.

I’m not going to guess what your budget is, but there are ways to stretch it.  If you want to eat on Ocean Drive, stroll up and down the street first.  Many places offer meal discounts and/or combination meal/drink discounts.  You may choose to balance your food costs by eating at a lesser expensive bistro-style restaurant and splurge a night or 2 at a nicer restaurant. 

Take advantage of hotel breakfasts when they are included in the room charge and additional meal discounts.  For example, at Leslie, meals, and beverages were 30% off for hotel guests and breakfast was included. 

Our experience at the Shelbourne was similar.  On the first day of our 2018 trip, we spent $250 on food and beverages, likewise on another day we spent $25 on food and beverage by eating the included breakfast and eating at a bistro for supper. 

It’s all about where you want to spend your money.

South Beach is not one of Florida’s least expensive destinations, but you get what you pay for.

First takeaway? SOBE Activity #1 –  SOBE is a food paradise!!!

What are the other SOBE activities? 

You just can’t talk about SOBE without talking about the beach. I mean… hello. The name is South… wait for it… Beach.

Papa Joe loves hanging out on the beach. Believe it or not, he has trouble relaxing – he always has to be doing something. Our time at the beach is one of the few times he is perfectly fine with just sitting back, relaxing, and watching families play.

Meet my new Brazilian friends below? Well, they had an amazing budget-friendly setup. Adult beverages, water, snacks – everything you need for a day at the beach. I approached them for a picture of their beach-friendly set-up and got this photo instead. I’m very happy I did!

If you can’t hit the beach, you can always check out the pool.  Enjoying the beach or pool sounds like a no-brainer, right? 

I think the best part about the beaches and pools isn’t the water.  I fully believe the best part is how relaxed people get.  That’s how Papa Joe and I met Mr. Hot-Tub Switzerland – sorry, no pics. 

We also made friends with Mr. Sweden and my new Brazilian friends in the photo above. Florida and South Beach is one of our favorite destinations for hanging out and relaxing

Beach or meeting people?

I don’t think we ended up talking to many other folks from the US. Of all the new friends we made, everyone was international.  Which makes #2 a difficult decision.  Is it the beach or the opportunity to mingle with the international crowd? Either way, Florida and South Beach is a great place to do that!

I still go with the beach for SOBE Activity #2, but international tourism is a strong runner-up

SOBE Activity #3.  Places to go, people to meet, things to do…

I know, this sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, but it is oh, so true.

If you don’t have an inner foodie or want to hang out at the beach, SOBE has entertainment galore up and down Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, and sprinkled throughout SOBE.  

Oceans 10 has become one of our favorite go-to spots and regularly features live music.  Musical entertainment was not in short supply regardless of where we went. It was very common to hear strains of various musical beats wafting out venue doors as we walked by. 

And out of car stereos. 

And from the restaurants lining Ocean Drive hotels.  In other words, bring your dancing shoes.

SOBE Activities #3 – choose 1 or 2 of these things and just enjoy yourself.

Hang with me here and grab ahold of your sense of adventure. Papa Joe and I missed this museum on our first trip, but we made sure to visit the Erotic Art Museum in 2019. 

I’m sure it’s a surprise, but there aren’t many pictures we can share.  But here are a few less risqué items that are share-worthy.

Our entrance into the Erotic Art Museum was $20 per person. We also enjoyed a harbor adventure that was well worth the $37 per person.  Prices absolutely go up from there.

Miami has tons of other activities…  

Duck Boat tours to Biscayne Bay, Flamingo Gardens, Miami Seaquarium, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens – just to name a few.

Viator (TripAdvisor) is a great resource for tours and other activities in the SOBE area. AND I can help you with discounts! Save up to 50% off tours and activities on Viator

Are you looking for free SOBE activities?

Look no further!

The stroll along Ocean Drive is an awesome place to check out art deco architecture, which is one of the city’s treasures (Miami got lucky with the art deco). 

We got photos of some of the better art deco examples – notice many of these are now hotels, and the bright awnings cover many of the restaurants described earlier. 

Just imagine the smells coming out of these restaurants, the brightly colored buildings, sounds of ocean waves, and skateboards in the background.

All mixed with music wafting out of the restaurants, and feel of warm sun on your skin.  How can you say no to these Florida delights?

Final recommendation on SOBE activity #3.

I always go for free activities. Free can be really good – especially in a city like Miami Florida. SOBE is really expensive and I have to stretch my buck. Discounts are great, but my vote is always for the beach, and people-watching along Ocean Drive.

See our earlier SOBE blog for other details. 

Down to the Nitty Gritty

Papa Joe and I always have to end with takeaways for the trip or location.  You can probably guess some of our takeaways.  The top 3 SOBE activities are gimmes, thus the name of this blog.  Fantastic food, beaches, and lots of things to do.  

But the rest?  Have an open mind, be willing to work a little harder to talk to international tourists. Most speak English, but figuring out accents or dialects can be difficult.  Meeting new people is definitely worth the effort.

Takeaway – research this amazing Florida destination, plan what you want to do, but please please please, leave some time to be spontaneous.

Most of all… live dangerously.  Do something fun, a little wild.  Let your inner child out.  I guarantee you won’t be alone when you cut loose!

Key Biscayne Harbor, right before sunset. This view is literally worth a Million Bucks!

Originally published in March 2018, this story was updated in October 2019 and July 2020.